The Hidden Enemy
by GeorgiaDawg99
Summary: This story takes place some time after The Search graphic novel series. An evil plot is uncovered to kill Aang, but Katara won't let that happen. LOTS OF KATAANG! Other pairings include Sukka and Maiko. I'm planning to update with new chapters whenever I get the chance. Rated T for some blood, violence, and romance. PLEASE WRITE REVIEWS OR PM ME TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

As Appa landed outside Zuko's palace, a huge crowd of people eager to catch a glimpse of the avatar and his friend gathered around. A huge group of heavily armed guards surrounded the gang as they got off Appa. Aang looked Katara and she shrugged. She then took her boyfriend's hand and they walked through the gates, Sokka and Toph following behind them. When they reached the palace, they were greeted by a multitude of servants offering hot towels and various foods. Sokka helped himself to the snacks while Katara and Aang politely declined and Toph just ignored them. A man with a thin mustache and pudgy face came over to Aang.

"Avatar Aang, I will make your presence known to Fire Lord Zuko immediately," he said.

"Oh, um, ok," Aang replied. The man then hurried off in the direction of the Fire Lord's quarters. Minutes later, Zuko walked into the room.

Aang smiled and bowed to him saying "Hello Your Fieriness. Thank you for inviting us to the palace."

"I told you not to call me that," Zuko said.

"No, you told me not to call you Sifu Hotman."

Zuko frowned.

"Okay, okay," Aang said putting his hands up in a sign defeat, "I won't call you that."

"Good," Zuko said, "Now how about some dinner?"

As the gang sat around the table, Zuko told them how things were going with his mom at the palace.

"I think it's a bit hard for her to be here because of all the bad memories, but she is pulling through," he told them.

"That's good," Sokka said except since his mouth was full of roasted turtle duck, it came out sounding more like "Dat's 'ood."

"Sokka, please, don't talk with your mouth full. It's really gross," Katara chided him.

"So Zuko," Aang said, "What was with all those guards earlier?"

"Protection," Zuko simple stated.

"From what?" Sokka prompted, "I mean, I appreciate the thought and all, but I think we can handle a crowd of fans."

"Yeah," Katara said, "I have to agree with Sokka on this one Zuko."

"It's not the crowds I'm worried about. It's the New Ozai Society," Zuko said. The others gave him questioning looks. Zuko sighed and massaged his temples. "After Aang defeated my father, most of the Fire Nation was happy to be rid of him. They didn't like the war anymore than than the rest of the world. But some of my dad's elites went and formed an underground organization designed to dethrone me. It is made up mostly of governors and military officials. Mai's dad is part of it."

"Wait, you mean the guy in Omashu we tricked by pretending we had pentapox?" Sokka broke in.

"Pentapox?" Zuko asked confused.

"When we were in Omashu, we use purple pentapai to make it look like we had a disease and called it pentapox. We tricked the governor to help the rebels escape," Aang explained.

"Oh," Zuko said, "Yeah, Mai's dad governed Omashu when it was occupied by the Fire Nation. Anyway, Mai had a run in with the New Society while staying with her Aunt and she uncovered a new plot and sent me a letter about it. They've decided Aang is the problem, not me." He turned to the avatar. "Aang, they want to kill you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

"Wait, so you're telling me that you brought Aang her, to the Fire Nation, to protect him from other people in the Fire Nation?" Sokka said, "Doesn't that seem a little, well, dumb?"

"Actually, the New Ozai Society is spread all over the world. I think this is the safest place Aang could be. It's well guarded on the inside and out," Zuko explained.

"Didn't you get attacked here in your first year as Fire Lord?" Toph asked.

"Well, yeah," Zuko admitted,

"But that was before the Kyoshi Warriors came. There hasn't been an attack since."

"Still," Katara said, "What if Aang is attacked here?"

"Katara, it's ok," Aang said, laying a hand on her shoulder. He turned to Zuko. "If you think this is the safest place for me to be right now, then I trust you." Zuko nodded.

"I'll some servants to prepare you some rooms.

Aang was out on his room's balcony looking up at the stars. "Why can't there just be peace?" he thought to himself, "It seems like every time I get rid of one threat, another arises." He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and turned to find Katara looking at him with concern.

"Aang? Are you okay?" He gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Aang, please, talk to me."

Aang sighed. "I just wish there could be peace. Every time one threat is gotten rid of, a new one seems to replace in." He looked back up at the sky. "I mean, why am I even the avatar if I can't bring the balance to the world?" He felt Katara's arms wrap around him and her head rest on his shoulder.

"Aang," she murmured, "Just because there isn't complete peace doesn't mean you're a bad avatar. Peace isn't easy to come by, especially after the world's been at war for a hundred years. But it'll come. She turned him to face her. "Everything's going to turn out fine."

"Thanks Katara," Aang said. Katara smiled and pulled him in for a kiss.

"Now try and get some sleep," she said before walking to her own room. Aang smiled then yawned. He crawled in bed and fell asleep.

Aang woke up to the sound of footsteps. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hello? Who's there?" He firebended a small flame and crawled out of bed. He checked around the room first then opened the door to the balcony and walked out there. "Hello?" Suddenly, a dark figure jumped down from the roof.

"DIE AVATAR!" it snarled.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender**

Katara woke to the sounds of fighting.

"Aang!" she gasped, rushing out of her room. Sure enough, the source of the sounds seemed to be Aang's room. She burst through the door to find Aang being attacked by a masked person. The person was firebending at Aang. Aang dodged the fireballs and sent a blast of air at the person. The attacker was knocked over, but quickly recovered. They sent another blast of fire at Aang. Aang tried to dodge it again, but wasn't as fast as last time and it caught the side of his shirt on fire. When Katara saw this, she was enraged. She bent the water out of a vase of flowers that was in the room, first putting out Aang's shirt and then attacking the masked person.

"Haven't you heard?" she said as she waterbended at them, "I don't appreciate people trying to set my boyfriend on fire!" No sooner had the words left her mouth than had she frozen Aang's attacker to the wall. She then rushed to Aang's side.

"Aang! Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, "Thanks for the help sweetie. I don't know what I'd do without you." Katara blushed.

"I'm sure you'd be fine," she said, "But I'm happy to help." Aang smiled at her and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. A moment later, the guards rushed in followed by Zuko, Toph, Sokka, and the Kyoshi Warriors.

"What happened her?!"Sokka asked, "And why is there a person frozen to your wall Aang?"

"Aang was attacked," Katara said.

"Yeah, I was woken up by the sound of footsteps and when I got up to look around, I was attacked. Katara must have heard us fighting because she came in and helped me," Aang explained.

"I thought you said it was safe here Zuko!" Katara said turning towards the Fire Lord, "Aang could've been injured," her voice caught in her throat, "Or worse." Tears leaked out of the waterbender's eyes. Aang pulled her close.

"Shhh. It's okay Katara," he said rubbing her back as he held her.

"I'm sorry Aang. It's just, I already lost my mom! I can't lose someone else I love."

"Hey, it's okay. I understand." He lifted her chin and kissed her passionately. Sokka cleared his throat.

"Ahem, oogies," he said. The couple ignored him and Sokka rolled his eyes. When the two finally pulled apart, Aang looked up at Zuko who was pacing. The Fire Lord seemed to be having trouble finding the right words to say. He finally looked up at Aang.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I thought you'd be safe here. But despite what took place tonight, it is still my firm belief that this is the safest place for you to stay at the moment. Anywhere else would be ten times more dangerous. I will increase the number of guards and move you to a different, safer room." Aang sighed and nodded.

"Okay, we'll stay. For now. Now let's see who this is. Zuko, want to do the honors?" Aang asked. Zuko walked over to the attacker and pulled off the mask revealing none other than Chan, the guy who had had hosted that horrible party while Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula were at Ember Island. "_You_," Zuko growled, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Chan sneered, "I'm trying to kill the avatar. When you took the throne, my dad was put out of work. He joined the New Ozai Society and I joined with him. We don't think a loser like you deserves to occupy the position of Fire Lord and once the avatar is dead, you'll be taken off the throne easily. Now why don't you and your friends unfreeze me?" Zuko nodded at Katara and Katara unfroze Chan. Guards immediately surrounded him. But as the guards took him past Aang, Chan used his legs to lash out with fire, taking down the guards, before anyone could react, he took out a knife and threw it at Aang. The knife lodged itself in Aang's gut with a sickening thud. Katara screamed as Aang looked down at the knife that stuck out of his stomach and fell to the ground and the Kyoshi Warriors surged forward. Ty Lee chi blocked Chan and he fell to the floor. Toph then earthbended shackles around his ankles and hands. Sokka then whacked him over the head with his club for good measure, knocking Chan out. Everyone then looked over at Aang, who had passed out and was being cradled gently by Katara.

"We got to get him to a doctor!" Sokka said.

"On it," Zuko said. He turned to the guards. "Get a stretcher!" he ordered, "The avatar needs a doctor now!" They hurried out and returned a few minutes later with a stretcher. Suki gently coaxed Katara to let go of Aang and Sokka and Zuko lifted him onto the stretcher. They then took him to the palace doctor.

When they had gotten to the doctor's he had immediately cleared off a bed for Aang. Sokka and Zuko had laid him on it. Katara, who was in shock, walked silently back over to Aang's side. The doctor cut off Aang's shirt, which was soaked in blood.

"I need lots of bandages, some rags, and a bucket of water," the doctor said. Toph and Sokka rushed out to get the items the doctor asked for. When they came back, the doctor thanked them and turned back to Aang. He put one hand on Aang's chest and grabbed the knife handle with the other. He then gave a mighty yank and pulled the knife out. It was like pulling out a stopper. While there had still been blood before, the knife had stopped a lot of it. Now the blood flowed freely.

"Hand me a wet rag now!" Sokka handed him one and the doctor started to clean out Aang's wound. The other's looked way in disgust except Katara, who would only watch as the one she loved was being worked on. She held his hand as the doctor continued to clean the wound out.

"Bandages," the doctor said. Sokka handed him bandages. He started to bandage Aang's wound, but Katara stopped him, finally speaking.

"Wait sir. I can help. I'm a healer. Let me look at him." The doctor nodded and gave her some room. Katara unwrapped the bandage, which was already crimson with his blood. She bent some water out of the bucket the doctor had and lay her hands over Aang's wound. The water started to glow. A few minutes later, Katara pulled her hands away. The wound had closed up, but there was still a long this cut where it had been.

"That's all I can do for now," Katara said, "But it should slow the bleeding considerably. For now, everyone else should get some rest. I'm going to stay with Aang."

"Are you sure Katara? You need rest too," Sokka said to his sister.

"No, I want to stay with Aang," she said firmly.

"Ok," Sokka said knowing how stubborn his sister could be. So the others left, going to their own rooms to try and get some sleep, while Katara sat by Aang's bed holding his hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender**

Aang woke up to find Katara sound asleep with her head resting on his chest.

"Katara?" he mumbled groggily. Katara's eyes fluttered open.

"Aang!" she gasped, quickly lifting her head off of his chest, "You're awake!" Aang tried to sit up, but was stopped by a sharp pain in his gut. He groaned in pain.

"Aang, lie down! You got hurt pretty bad."

"What happened?" he asked laying back down, "I remember Zuko unmasking that guy who attacked me and then the guards started to take him away and there was a flash of fire then something hit me."

"The thing that hit you was a knife thrown by that guy. You passed out. We got you to the palace doctor and he got out the knife and cleaned your wound. The doctor said it was a pretty serious wound. You've been out for a week," Katara told him.

"I want to see it," Aang said.

"Huh?"

"The wound, I want to see it."

"Oh, ok, I should probably give you another healing session now anyways," Katara said unwrapping the bandage to reveal a nasty looking cut with a purplish bruise surrounding it. It seemed to be oozing some kind of pus.

"Okay, that is gross," Aang said making a face, "But it's not as bad as you made it sound. I thought a knife wound would be much worse looking."

"Well I healed it as much as I could, but an infection set in a couple days ago," Katara explained. She bent some water out of her pouch and lay her hands over the wound. The water started to glow and Aang sighed in relief.

"Thanks Katara. That feels much better."

She smiled at him. "I'm just glad you're awake. You had me worried."

A few days later, the infection had healed and Aang was back on his feet. As promised, Zuko had put him in a safer room and put more guards on duty. He'd also put the others in safer rooms at Aang's request. On one of his first nights in his new room, he was laying awake in bed thinking. He suddenly heard Katara scream.

"Katara!" Aang jumped out of bed and raced to her room. He found his girlfriend crying in her bed, tangled up in her sheets.

"Katara, what happened?" he asked worriedly. Katara just shook her head. Aang walked over and sat down on the bed by her. He brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"Katara, please."

"It was nothing, just a nightmare," she said shakily.

"Tell me about it," Aang said.

Katara took a deep breath. "The knife wound brought back the memory of when you were struck down by Azula's lightning and I've started to dream about it. Every time I got to bed, what happened that night, it's replayed over and over in my head. It won't stop! I felt so helpless when that happened Aang. Azula shot you and I didn't know what to do. I thought I had lost you." Aang hugged her fiercely.

"But you didn't lose me," he told her, "I'm here now, see?" He lifted her face and kissed her. They sat together in quiet for a few minutes, then Katara broke the silence.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" she asked, voice still shaking.

"Of course," Aang said.

She lay back down and Aang lay down with her. Katara held him tight like she was worried that he'd disappear if she let go and Aang wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace.

"I love you Aang," Katara mumbled tiredly.

"I love you too Katara," Aang said, but she was already fast asleep, comforted at last in the arms of the one she loved.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender**

Katara woke up in Aang's arms. "What's he doing here?" she thought groggily. Then she remembered that he'd stayed with her after she'd had the nightmare. She smiled as he mumbled something in his sleep. He was so sweet and caring and Katara loved him so much. She kissed him and his eyes opened.

"Katara," he mumbled sleepily.

"Good morning sweetie," she said smiling at him.

"I'll take it you didn't have any more nightmares," Aang said.

"Yep thanks to you," Katara said. Aang smiled.

"Glad I could help."

The door opened and Sokka walked in.

"Morning Katara-" He stopped what he was saying when he saw Aang in bed with her. "GAH! KATARA!"

"Sokka! It's not like that! Nothing happened! I had a nightmare and Aang came and stayed with me. That's all," Katara quickly explained.

"That's not a valid excuse Katara!"

"It's not an excuse, it's what really happened!" The two siblings continued to shout at each other until Aang broke in.

"Um, Sokka? Katara is telling the truth. She had a nightmare and I came in to comfort her. She asked me to stay with her and I said I would. That's all that happened," he said. Sokka turned on him.

"Oh really arrow boy? Then why are you shirtless?!"

"Because that is how he sleeps Sokka," Katara answered, "You really should know this by now. You've seen him sleep when we were traveling plenty of times."

"Still!" Sokka said, "I've got a good mind to bring boomerang out on you right now." Aang and Katara lucked out because at that moment, Suki decided to walk in.

"Sokka, what's going on?" she asked.

"I found these two sleeping together!" Sokka replied. Suki looked over at Aang and Katara and raised an eyebrow at them.

"It wasn't like that Suki!" Katara said.

"Yeah, Katara had a nightmare so I stayed with her," Aang explained. Suki nodded at them. She then turned back to her enraged boyfriend.

"Sokka," she said, "If they say nothing happened, then nothing happened." Sokka sighed.

"Fine," he said and with that he turned and left with Suki. Katara sighed in relief.

"Sorry about that Aang. Sokka can be pretty overprotective sometimes."

"It's okay. It just goes to show how much he cares about you."

"Yeah," Katara said. The two lay there in silence for a few more minutes.

"We should probably get up now," Katara said. Aang sighed.

"You're probably right."

As the two walked into the kitchen they got funny looks from everyone. "What?" Aang said jokingly, "Did Appa sneeze on me?" Katara laughed remembering how he'd said that when she'd introduced him to the village and they'd all looked at him strangely because no one had seen and airbender in over a hundred years.

"No," Toph said, "Snoozles here was just telling us how he found you cuddled up together." Katara looked at Sokka who was sitting at the table smirking.

"It wasn't like that!" Aang said. Katara lay a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay Aang. Sokka is just being stupid."

"Hey!" Sokka said.

"Let's just eat breakfast," Suki said before the siblings could start arguing again.

"So," Zuko said as everyone ate, "I think we've located the main camp of the New Ozai Society. It seems to be located on the coast of the Fire Nation in a secret underground bunker kind of like the one my dad had near here. We should be able to locate and infiltrate the bunker with the help of Toph and from there we should be able to go in and find who is in charge of this whole group."

"Sound good," Aang said, "When do we leave?"

"At noon, so get packing as soon as you're done eating," Zuko told them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender**

As Aang finished packing, he heard a knock on his door. "It must be Katara," Aang thought to himself. She was the only one who really ever knocked anyway, the others just tended to barge in, so he was surprised when he found Sokka standing in his doorway.

"Sokka? Um, what are you doing here?" Aang asked. Sokka looked sheepishly down at the ground.

"Ah, well, Suki thought I should apologize about his morning, so yeah, here I am. I'm sorry about what happened," Sokka said.

"Oh, it's fine Sokka. I understand. You're her older brother so I guess you must feel like it's your duty to protect her, right?"

"Yeah," Sokka said putting out his hand, "So, we good?"

"Yeah," Aang smiled, "We good." Sokka gave him a grin, then turned and left to pack his own stuff.

"You ready to go on a trip buddy?" Aang asked his bison friend while giving him a pat on the nose. Appa made some rumbling noises and Aang smiled. He looked up as the others came out. "Appa's saddled up and ready to go," Aang told them. They all climbed on and sat down in Appa's saddle except for Katara who sat on the sky bison's head with Aang.

"Yip yip!" Aang said and Appa took off.

"Okay Aang," Zuko said, "We need to head to the southern coast of the Fire Nation."

"Got it," Aang said steering Appa in the direction Zuko told him to go in.

"So," Sokka said about an hour into the ride, "How long should it take to get there?"

"We should be there by nightfall," Zuko told him, "So get some rest now because once we get there, we are going to want to get in and out as quick as we can."

"About that, what exactly is the plan," Sokka asked.

"Toph's going to make us an entrance and then we're going to get one of the people in there to tell us who's in charge and where they are."

"And what if they refuse to tell us?"

"They won't."

As dark was falling, the gang arrived at the supposed location of the bunker. Toph stomped the earth, feeling the vibrations.

"Yep, there's definitely something down their," Toph said. She then got into stance and used her earthbending to make an opening that went into a tunnel. "This way," Toph said running to the right.

"This is bringing back memories of the invasion," Sokka said as he followed the others down the tunnel. They reached a huge metal door.

"It's locked," Zuko said trying to open it. Toph spit into her hands and metalbended the doors so everyone could get through.

"Yep, definitely bringing back memories," Sokka muttered. As the gang rounded a corner they saw a door. "Seriously?" Sokka said turning to Zuko, "Are all secret bunkers in the Fire Nation built the same way?" Zuko ignored him and nodded at Toph who metalbended the door. The group bust in ready for a fight, but the room was empty.

"Really? Is this going to be and exact copy of the invasion?" Sokka asked nobody in particular.

"That's strange," Zuko said, "This looks like it's designed to be the room for whoever's in charge." His eyes then widened. "It was a false lead," he said as what had happened dawned on him.

"A false lead?! So you're telling me we flew all this way to invade an empty bunker?!" Sokka said.

"Where did you get the lead Zuko?" Aang asked his friend.

"It was anonymous," the Fire Lord told him, "I thought it must have been an ally who wanted to help, but I guess it was a member of the New Ozai Society trying to get us off their trail. That's why we haven't ran into anyone yet. The bunker is completely empty."

"So, what now?" Katara asked. Everyone looked expectantly at Zuko since it was his plan.

"I don't know."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

It was a long ride back to the palace. Toph was asleep, her arm draped over Appa's saddle. It was the same way with Sokka, who was snoring softly and had drool on his chin. Zuko was just sitting there, deep in thought, trying to figure out what to do next. Aang was on Appa's head with Katara, who had her head resting on his shoulder. Aang yawned causing Katara to lift her head.

"Aang?"

"Mmmm?"

"You need to get some rest sweetie."

"Nah, I'm fine," Aang said, stifling another yawn.

"Aang," Katara said, laying a hand on his shoulder, "You need to sleep. I'll take over steering. Please, for me." Aang looked into her pleading blue eyes.

"Okay," he gave in, "But wake me up if anything happens." Katara nodded and took the reins as Aang scooted over. His head fell to rest on her shoulder as he fell asleep, and Katara smiled.

Aang woke up to someone gently shaking his shoulders.

"Aang. Aang, wake up. We're back at the palace." Aang slowly opened his eyes and smiled as Katara's face came into focus.

"We're back?" he said.

"Yeah," Katara replied. As Aang sat up, he winced.

"You okay Aang?" Katara asked worriedly.

"Yeah, it's just the old knife wound. It's a bit tender for some reason." What he didn't tell her was that he felt a bit dizzy and hot too.

"Oh, then we'll have a healing session when we get inside, okay?"

"Okay."

The two climbed back to the saddle and woke up Toph, Sokka, and Zuko, who'd also ended up falling asleep. The gang then walked into the palace, where Suki greeted them. Sokka immediately ran over to his girlfriend and kissed her passionately.

"Seriously?" Toph muttered to no one in particular.

"Come on. Let's take a look at that knife wound," Katara said, taking Aang's hand and pulling him to her room.

When the two got in her room, Katara instructed Aang to take off his shirt and sit down on her bed. While he did that, she got a fresh bowl of water. Aang smiled as she walked over to him and knelt down beside him. "Katara is so pretty," he thought, "She is practically sparkling today." He giggled. Sparkly was a funny word. Katara gave him a queer look. "Aang? What's so funny?"

"How do you sparkle?" Aang asked.

"What?" Katara asked, clearly confused.

"How do you sparkle?" Aang repeated, "Can you teach me how to sparkle-bend like you do?"

"Um, Aang? Are you feeling okay?" Katara asked worriedly.

"I'm feeling great!" Aang said giddly, "So will you be my sparkle-bending master?"

Katara put her hand on his forehead.

"Aang, you're burning up! Let me see that wound." Katara looked down at it and gasped. The wound was a yellowish green color and was oozing the same pus it had before, when it was infected.

"Oh no. The infection is back."

"But I don't want Infection to be my sparkle-bending master. I want you."

"Aang," Katara laid her hands on his shoulders, "You're delirious."

"I am? Okay."

Katara sighed. "I'm going to get the doctor. I'll be right back."

When Katara came back with the doctor, they found Aang laying on the ground.

"Um, Aang? What are you doing?"

"Who's Aang? I'm Delirious. You told me so yourself."

"No, I meant… oh never mind. So what are you doing?" Katara asked him.

"Talking to the floor." Aang said matter of factly.

"Okay then. How about you sit back down on the bed and let the doctor look at you?"

"Okay," Aang said happily.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

Aang hummed as the doctor looked at his wound.

"This is strange," the doctor muttered, "The infection shouldn't have come back. Even if it would have, it wouldn't appear after a whole week, it'd show up sooner."

"Then what is it?" Katara asked. The doctor's face darkened.

"Bring me the knife that caused this wound," he ordered. Katara did as he asked and the doctor studied it.

"I'll need to do some tests to be sure, but I think I know what caused this," he said.

"What?" Katara questioned, helping Aang back into his shirt. The doctor turned to her.

"Poison."

Katara paced Aang's room, waiting for the doctor to come back with the results of his test. Was it really poison? Katara wrung her hands nervously. The door opened, causing her to jump. The doctor walked in, a dour look on his face. Katara's heart dropped when she saw his expression.

"Is it?" she said, her voice almost a whisper. The doctor nodded.

"I'm afraid so," he told her.

"Is there a cure?" Katara asked hopefully.

"Yes, but the main ingredient for it is rather hard to come by."

"What is it?"

"The golden dragon flower. It only grows at the top of a volcano on Whale Tail Island."

"But that's a three day trip from here!" Katara exclaimed.

"Yes, that's right. We'd have to send someone to find it and even then, they might not make it back in time," the doctor said, "I'd say at most, Aang has seven days left to live. Whoever went to find the flower would have to make it there in back by that time. Considering the fact it's a three day trip there and back, not including the time it takes to collect the ingredient, there's a large possibility they won't make it time."

"No," Katara said, "We'll get the cure in time."

"How?" the doctor asked her.

"SOKKA! ZUKO!" Katara hollered. A few minutes later, both the Fire Lord and Water Tribe warrior rushed in.

"What? What happened? Are we being attacked?" Sokka asked, pulling out his boomerang.

"No, "the doctor said," But I'm afraid the avatar is dying."

"What? What do you mean dying? You mean like, well, dead?"

"Yes Sokka, that's the only type of dying there is," Zuko said.

"Well, how is he dying? He seemed fine earlier."

"The knife that punctured Aang's stomach had poison in it," the doctor explained. The two boys looked at Aang, who was staring blankly off into space.

"There's a cure," Katara said, "But it's on a volcano on Whale Tail Island. That's why we need you and Zuko to go find it."

"What? Why us?" Sokka asked, "Why can't you do it?"

"Because I need to stay with Aang."

At this point, Aang spoke up.

"It's hot in here," he said. He suddenly started to take off his clothes, _all_ his clothes.

"Aang! What in the world are you doing?! Don't undress here!"

"Yeah," Sokka said, "I DEFINITELY don't need to see that."

Katara quickly went over and stopped Aang from undressing himself.

"So, what your saying is you need me and Sokka to go to Whale Tail Island, find this flower, and get back before Aang, well, you know," Zuko said.

"Yes. But please hurry," Katara said.

"You said the trip takes around six days in all right?" Sokka asked.

"Mhm."

"We'll do it in half that time."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

Sokka frowned as he looked down at the things he'd packed for the mission. Why did he feel like he was forgetting something? "Let's see," Sokka said, "Boomerang, check. Battle club, check. Blankets, check. Water, check. Seal jerky, check." He frowned. "If that's everything, then why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?"

"That's because you are," came a voice, "Are planning on leaving without me?" Sokka looked up to see Zuko standing outside the war balloon.

"Were you not planning on telling me that you were leaving? Or did you think that somehow I'd know?" Zuko said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, sorry," Sokka said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Let's just get going. If we're going to make it there and back in three days, we'd better hurry," Zuko replied. The Fire Lord climbed in the war balloon and Sokka loaded up the coals into the furnace that powered it. Zuko then fire bent into it, and hot air filled the balloon, causing it to rise.

"I made some quick modifications to the balloon before we left," Sokka said, "It should go faster now and be more stable." Zuko just nodded at the Water Tribesman's words. An awkward silence ensued.

"So…" Sokka said, "How are you and gloom girl doing?"

"If you're talking about Mai, we broke up."

"What?!" Sokka said, "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because it wasn't really important."

"What are you talking about?! Of course it's important! Tell me, did you break up with her or did she break up with you?"

"I really don't see why this all matters."

"C'mon, just answer the question."

"Fine, she broke up with me," Zuko admitted.

"Ooooh, ouch," Sokka said wincing, "How did she end it? Was there a dramatic fight? Oh! Did she throw one of her throwing dagger thingies at you with a note attached to it?"

"She just said "It's over Zuko" and left."

"Oh," Sokka replied, disappointed, "That's boring."

"What's ending a relationship supposed to be like?" Zuko asked.

"Well, she could have at least thrown a little pizzazz in her break up with you. Or you could have added some drama. You could have been all "Nooooo! Mai, don't leave! You're only woman I've ever loved! If you leave me, I'll die!" That would have spiced things up a bit," Sokka said.

"That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard," Zuko replied, shaking his head.

"It's a gift," Sokka said, grinning.

"It wasn't a compliment."

Katara dabbed Aang's forehead with a wet washcloth. His fever had worsened. He had fallen asleep about three hours ago, after being delirious for a while. He was sweating and pale.

"Please hurry Sokka."

"So, what should we do about night flying?" Sokka asked Zuko.

"I guess we could take turns sleeping. One person could stay awake and fly the balloon for two hours or so," the Fire Lord said.

"Okay, you take first watch then," Sokka said, pulling out a blanket and laying down on the floor of the balloon.

"What? Why me?"

"Because you came up with the idea."

"So that means I automatically take first watch?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Sokka said, "Now shush, I'm trying to sleep."

"But-"

"No Zuko, shush. Sleepy time."

Zuko sighed. He decided he'd just let it go. He really didn't care that much if he got first watch. It gave him time to think. And for some reason, his thoughts drifted to Mai. Maybe Sokka had some truth in what he was saying earlier. Despite the stupidity that had made up most of what he'd said about Zuko and Mai breaking up, maybe he was right about Zuko saying something to stop her from leaving. But, he did say something. He said something stupid, that he'd forever regret. He had ordered her to come back. How naïve could he get? Zuko rested his chin on his palm. He missed Mai. She had contacted him once since she left him, and that was to tell him about the New Ozai Society and their plan. Besides that, she seemed to want nothing to do with him. Zuko let out another sigh. It was going to be a long two hours.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Okay guys, today is a special day. Why? We've reached Chapter 10 of The Hidden Enemy! Double digits people! To some of you, that might mean nothing, but I still want to use this chapter to say a special thanks to a couple of people. So many have followed or favorited this story and I'm very thankful for that. I also want to thank y'all for all the nice and helpful reviews. I especially want to thank two people in particular: thekataangfan and As A Ghost (you should definitely check out both of their writing too!). They have eagerly followed this story and given great reviews and advice. When I see reviews like theirs, it made me want to keep writing. So thanks guys, your support means more than you will ever know. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

As the sun rose in the east, it colored the ocean in a fiery glow. Sokka watched in awe, never having seen something so beautiful, except for maybe Suki, in his opinion at least. He knelt down to where the Fire Lord was sleeping and shook him awake.

"Zuko! Wake up! You've got to see this!"

"Huh?" the firebender groggily responded, sitting up and rubbing some sleep out of his eye.

"Look!" Sokka said pointing at the water below them. Zuko yawned and stood up to see what the Water Tribe warrior was so excited about. What he saw just about took his breath away.

"Is that from the sunrise?" he asked in disbelief. He'd never seen something like this, for he never typically woke up this early.

"I think so," Sokka replied. The two just stood there staring at the sight before them for a little while. Then Sokka piped up.

"It's hard to believe that the whole world is continuing to go on like normal when the avatar's life is at stake," he said quietly.

"Yeah. I guess one would think the world would stop if they knew him as well as we have the privilege of knowing him," Zuko agreed.

"And yet life goes on as if nothing of significance is happening."

"Mhm," Zuko nodded. A few more moments of silence passed by. Suddenly Sokka slammed his fist down on the railing of the war balloon, causing Zuko to jump.

"Aang better pull through this!" the warrior growled, "If he dies on us, it'd break my sister's heart, and if he breaks my sister's heart, I'm going to kill him, avatar or not!"

"But, if he died, you couldn't exactly kill him again," Zuko said.

"Whatever! He just better stay alive." Sokka grew quiet. "Katara already lost mom. If she lost the guy she loves, she wouldn't be able to go on. She was so devastated when we lost our mother. She just seemed so hopeless, which is not characteristic of her. I couldn't stand to see her have to go through that kind of pain again. It's my duty as her older brother to keep her form that sadness."

Zuko listened quietly. When the Water Tribesman had finished speaking, he spoke up.

"You really do care about your sister despite the way you act around her, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, she is my family. Of course I care about her," Sokka answered.

Zuko sighed. "I can't help but wish that me and Azula had had that kind of relationship. Maybe if I had been a better brother, she wouldn't have turned out the way she did…"

"No," Sokka firmly stated, "It's not your fault Azula turned out to be a firebending psychopath. She chose that path herself."

"Thanks Sokka," Zuko said.

It had been over twenty four hours since Sokka and Zuko had left for Whale Tail Island, and in that time, Aang's condition had greatly worsened. Katara nervously wrung her hands as the doctor checked him. He turned to her, his face grim.

"It seems I may have underestimated time it would take the poison to work its evil. I'm afraid the avatar has less time than we originally thought. Unless your friends get back her in the time they said they would, the avatar is going to die."

"No…" Katara said in disbelief, "That can't be true."

"I'm sorry," the doctor said, gathering his supplies and heading out of the room, "I'll leave you to have some time alone with him." He walked out, leaving a heartbroken Katara alone with Aang, who was completely unconscious. Katara felt tears spring to her eyes and a choked sob broke out of her throat. She fell to her knees, crying. "Aang, you can't leave me!" she sobbed, "You can't! I don't think I could live without you! Please, you have to live. You have to." She held on his hand, crying. Then she remembered some of the doctor's advice from before, when she'd asked what she should do.

"_Try recounting your old adventures together. I don't know exactly what it might do, but it could possibly help not only him, but you."_

"Sokka had taken me with him on a fishing trip," she started, "While he tried to catch a fish, I practiced waterbending, which I didn't know much about at the time. I managed to catch the fish in and orb of water, but then Sokka, being the annoying sibling he always is, managed to accidently set the fish free, and in the process, he got himself soaked. He got irritated with me, and then, we got caught in some rapids. Our boat was lost, and we were stranded among the ice flow. Then, Sokka blamed it all on me, and I got mad and inadvertently waterbended, causing and iceberg to crack. That's when I first saw you. You were frozen inside that iceberg. I remember grabbing Sokka's club and rushing towards the iceberg. Sokka shouted something about it being dangerous, but all I could think about at the moment was getting the person who happened to be you out of the ice. I broke the iceberg and you stumbled out and fell into my arms. I remember you acted all serious and asked me to come closer. And then, you asked me to go penguin sledding with you out of all things! I was pretty surprised. I said yes and when we went, I had more fun than I'd had in a long time. I remember when I found out you were the avatar. I remember when you found out about the death of your people, how devastated you were and how I comforted you. I remember when Aunt Wu told me my fortune. She told me I would marry a powerful bender. When you saved the village from that volcano, Sokka nonchalantly mentioned how powerful of a bender you were, and I realized Aunt Wu could have been talking about you. I remember how devastated I was when Zuko captured you at the North Pole and the fact that I wasn't able to protect you from him. I remember the first time we kissed, in the Cave of Two Lovers. I remember when we were in the desert, how devastated you were about Appa. You went into the avatar state. It hurt me so much to see you in that much pain. I remember holding you and getting you to calm down out of the avatar state, and how you cried in my arms. I remember your state of hopelessness while we were in the Serpent's Pass. I remember when you finally got your hope back, I was so happy. I remember when you got shot down in Ba Sing Se. That was one of the worst times in my life. It was horrible, seeing you die right before my eyes like that. Thankfully, I was able use the spirit water to bring you back. But still, you were unconscious for weeks. I barely left your side. When you finally woke up, I was so relieved. I remember that dance party you through and how you danced with me. I remember when you kissed me before the invasion. I remember when you kissed me during the intermission of that horrible play about us by the Ember Island players. I still feel horrible about how I reacted. It's just, I was really worried that if I admitted that I loved you and then lost you to Ozai, then… Well, I just couldn't handle it, but I realize now that if you had died without me ever telling you how I felt, that would have been even worse. I remember the relief I felt when I realized you'd won against Fire Lord Ozai. I remember when we kissed on the balcony of the Jasmine Dragon, in Ba Sing Se, after the war had ended. I treasure all these memories I've shared with you, each and every one of them. And I want to make more memories together." Tears streamed down the waterbender's face. "I want us to continue to date. I want us to get married. I want us to have kids together. I want us to grow old together. I want to spend the rest of my life with you Aang! So, don't die on me now. Just hold on! Sokka and Zuko will be back in no time with the cure. Hold on to life, for me. I love you Aang!"

When the doctor came back, a few hours later, to check on Aang, he found Katara curled up in the bed with the avatar, asleep and holding onto him tight.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Okay, so I've been having some writer's block lately. It's like my inspiration has taken a trip to Fiji or something. Anyways, I was wondering if any of y'all who read this could give me your input. Just let me know any ideas you have and if I decide to use them, I'll be sure to acknowledge them as yours. Thanks. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender**

Katara took out her water pouch and once again did a healing session on Aang's wound. The doctor had told her multiple times that it wouldn't help, but she refused to listen.

As Suki walked by the room, she noticed the familiar blue glow coming from under the door, one that could only mean Katara was once again trying to heal Aang. She was worried about her friend. Katara hadn't slept for more then a couple hours or so ever since they'd found out about the poison, and it was starting to show. The waterbender had bags under her eyes and was stumbling around like she had drunken too much cactus juice. Yet, no matter how many times Toph or Suki had confronted her on it, she had blatantly stated that she was fine. Suki sighed and decided to give it another try. She walked over and tentatively knocked on the door.

"Katara?" she said.

An exhausted voice came from inside. "What?"

Suki pushed open the door and peeked in. Sure enough, Katara was bent over Aang, focusing furiously on his wound and the chi energy around it, trying to heal it. It broke Suki's heart to see her friend like this. Katara had become like a sister to her. She walked over and laid her hands on her friend's shoulder.

"Katara, you have to rest."

"No, I'm fine. Besides, Aang needs me," Katara stated, not even looking up.

"You need to rest! Look at yourself. You're exhausted! And when was the last time you ate? I haven't seen you get a bite of food ever since Sokka and Zuko left! You've done all you can Katara," Suki said. Katara just shook her head. Suki tried a different approach.

"You know, if Aang saw you right now, he'd freak."

Katara looked up at her. Suki, seeing that she had her friend's attention, ventured on.

"Do you really think Aang would want you to not sleep at all? Do you really think he'd want you to refuse to eat? Katara, if Aang saw your current condition, he would freak out. If you're not willing to sleep for me, then do it for Aang."

"Suki…" Katara said, tear welling up in her eyes. She then started to sob, all that pent up emotion finally escaping in the form of tears. She felt broken, completely broken. Without Aang, she felt like she'd lost her purpose to live. Suki, seeing the other girl break down, quickly hugged her, giving all the comfort she could.

"Hey, it's okay," Suki said, "Aang's still alive you know. And Sokka and Zuko are going to be back before you know it. I know those two well, and they're not going to fail us. Aang is going to survive. Now get some rest, for Aang. You can even just sleep in here, so you can stay with him."

Katara nodded and crawled into Aang's bed. Suki smiled, glad she had been able to convince her friend to rest, and quietly walked out, praying that Katara would finally be able to get a decent rest.

"Zuko! We did it!" Sokka shouted, a smile on his face.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Zuko asked.

"Look, it's Whale Tail Island!" the Water Tribe warrior said, pointing to a piece of land in the middle of the ocean. Zuko came over and looked down.

"You're right. We seem to have reached are destination."

"Yeah!" Sokka said, pumping his fist into the air, his smile growing even wider, "Success!"

"Not yet Sokka. We still have to get the cure and make it back in time," the Fire Lord said. Sokka's smile dissipated.

"Why do you have to be so negative?" he asked.

"I'm not negative! I'm just being realistic!" Zuko said.

"Well, realistic is just a synonym for negative," Sokka retorted.

"No it's not! Look, let's just get the cure, and then we can get back to the palace, okay?"

"Fine your royal negativity."

Zuko slapped his hand to his forehead in exasperation. The two landed the balloon on a flat patch of land, devoid of trees. As they came to the foot of the volcano, Sokka's brow furrowed.

"You know, I wasn't really expecting volcano to be this tall. This is not going to be easy."

"Now who's being negative?" Zuko said, giving the Water Tribesman a smirk. Sokka just glared at him.

It was not and easy climb. The terrain was tough, full of crevasses and huge boulders just waiting for the slightest amount of force to send them tumbling down to crush whatever was in their path. By the time the boys had gotten about halfway there, they were both exhausted.

"This…is…horrible," Sokka said, barely able to speak through his heavy breathing, "I've…never…been…more…tired…in…my…life."

"Man up," Zuko said, wiping some sweat from his face. But despite his comment, he was also worn out.

"Can't we just take a short break?" Sokka pleaded.

"No," Zuko gritted his teeth, "We have to keep going. Everyone is relying on us remember?"

Sokka groaned. He pulled out his canteen and took a swig of water. They walked for another ten minutes or so, then came to what looked like a tunnel. Zuko walked up to the mouth of it.

"Maybe it's a shortcut to the top," he said thoughtfully.

"Yes!" Sokka exclaimed happily, "I love shortcuts! Let's go!" Before Zuko could say a word, he'd run into the tunnel.

"Sokka, wait! It could be dangerous!" the firebender said, running after him. He caught up with Sokka and stopped him.

"Look, I know you think of yourself as the "idea guy", but I really don't know if this is the best idea. Running into a random tunnel on the side of a volcano? Probably not the smartest thing to do."

"But you said it might be a shortcut," Sokka said, a whine evident in his voice.

Zuko sighed. "Fine, we'll try it, but if it doesn't seem to be promising after about ten minutes, we're going to turn back and go the way we planned. Got it?"

Sokka nodded and the boys continued down the tunnel. Soon, they started to see what looked to be light at the end of the tunnel.

"The exit!" Sokka exclaimed, rushing towards the light source. But what they found was completely unexpected.

The two found themselves on a ledge overlooking what seemed to be a meeting of sorts.

"Get down!" Zuko hissed, ducking and pulling Sokka behind a rock.

"This meeting of the New Ozai Society will now come to order!" a booming voice came from below. Zuko gasped, realizing what they had stumbled upon. He looked over at Sokka, who's mouth was hanging agape.

"We need to get out of here!" Zuko whispered furiously. Sokka nodded. They started sneaking back up the way they had come. Once they were out of earshot, they started to sprint, all their exhaustion replaced with adrenaline. They ran in silence, the only sound being the pounding of their feet against the rocky tunnel floor. Suddenly, they heard voices and saw shadows up ahead. Zuko pulled Sokka into a side tunnel and the two ran down it, not caring where it lead, just wanting to get away from the immediate threat. Suddenly, the two were out in the open. Sokka and Zuko both collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. Then Zuko realized where they were.

"Sokka."

"What?" Sokka wheezed.

"Look."

Sokka looked and gasped, realizing they were at the top of the volcano. And surrounding them in every direction were little golden flowers.

"Golden dragon flowers! We did it!"

For once, Zuko allowed himself a grin. "We did do it."

All tiredness forgotten, the two gathered up as many of the flowers as they could and headed down the mountain, avoiding going back through the tunnel. After what must have been hours, the two got back to the balloon and took off for the Fire Nation Palace. They were in the homestretch. They just hoped they could reach Aang in time.

Katara felt herself being shaken awake. "What? What is it?" she mumbled, still half asleep.

"Sokka and Zuko are back!" a voice exclaimed excitingly.

"What?!" Katara bolted up to find Suki standing over her. She looked over at the doorway, where her brother stood grinning like an idiot.

"I told you we'd do it in half the time," he said.

"Sokka!" Katara ran over to her brother and enveloped him in a hug.

"Okay, okay," Sokka said, awkwardly patting her back as she hugged him, "You can let go now. Seriously, let go. This is getting kinda weird."

Katara pulled back, and smiled gratefully at the Fire Lord as she turned to him.

"Thanks Zuko," she said. He nodded.

"So we gave the golden dragon flowers to the doctor, and he is putting together the cure. He said he'd come over here as soon as it was prepared," Sokka said. Katara breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"He's going to make it. He's going to live," she whispered to herself.

"Of course he is. Do you really think I'd let him die and hurt you like that? It's my brotherly duty to make sure you're happy. Like I've said before, you need me, and I will never turn my back on you," Sokka said. Katara smiled tearfully at her brother.

"Despite the fact that you can be a stupid meathead sometime, you really are the best brother one could wish for."

At that moment the doctor came in, a cup of something in his hand.

"Is that it?" Katara asked. The doctor grinned at her.

"You're friends did it. We've got the cure." He went over to Aang and knelt down. Suddenly he gasped.

"What? What is it?" Katara asked.

"His pulse, it's gone…" the doctor said. Katara felt her heart break into a million tiny pieces. ,"

"No, he can't be… We got back in time. He can't die," Sokka said, his face turning pale.

"Wait! There it is! I can feel his pulse now. It's barely there though, so we have to hurry."

"No… Aang…" Katara rushed over to the avatar's side and knelt down. "Aang, do not leave me!" she said furiously, "I'm not going to lose you!" She turned to the doctor. "Give him the cure now," she said in such a commanding tone that the doctor immediately did as she said. As the doctor put the cure in Aang's mouth, Katara grabbed his hand. "Aang, you're not going to leave me, you hear? Stay with me. You cannot leave me, you promised me you'd always be there for me. STAY WITH ME."

Suddenly, the avatar's eyes fluttered open.

"Katara," he gasped.

Tears came to the waterbender's eyes as an overwhelming sense of relief overcame her.

"Aang!" She practically threw herself on him, melding her lips to his in a warm and passionate kiss. The others watched silently and filled with relief. Even Sokka, who usually would have given a snarky remark about oogies, kept his mouth shut. Finally, Katara pulled away, letting Aang catch his breath, while she peppered his face with tiny, little kisses. "I thought I had lost you," she said in between kisses. Aang sighed happily and ran a hand through her hair.

"You'll never lose me."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

It had been two weeks since Aang had been healed. The poison may have not completed its job, but it had weakened the avatar significantly, so these past two weeks, Aang had been undergoing alternate stages of training and resting. At least, this was when he was not off spending alone time with Katara. The close call with death had caused the two of them to grow even closer than thought humanly possible. Currently, the couple was sitting on a picnic blanket out in the royal gardens of the Fire Nation palace. They had managed to escape the prying eyes of Sokka, who was constantly chiding them on their recent displays of open affection, which wasn't necessarily new to them, and they had enjoyed a picnic together. They now sat in a comfortable silence, each enjoying the company of the other as the afternoon turned into evening. Aang smiled down at Katara, the latter of which had her head in his lap. He ran his hand through her chocalately brown hair and she hummed with pleasure at the feeling. The setting sun shown down through the foliage of the tree the couple had positioned themselves by and warmed them with its rays. Katara ran her finger in meaningless patterns on the picnic blanket, feeling completely at peace for the first time in weeks.

"Katara?" Aang asked.

"Mm?"

"I love you."

The waterbender sat up at the words and tenderly cupped his cheek with her hand.

"I love you too," she said. She then leaned in to kiss him.

Whenever Katara kissed him, Aang felt like all the troubles in the world melted away, like nothing existed except him and her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and brought the other behind her head, drawing her closer and further deepening the kiss. Katara sighed happily into his mouth as Aang moved his lips with hers, pouring out all of his love for her into the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her heart threatening to break out of her chest because of the intensity of the kiss. Nothing could ruin the moment. Well, nothing except annoying siblings.

"There you two are- AAAAAAAHHHH! KATARA!"

The couple quickly pulled away from each other.

"Sokka!" Katara said in a surprised voice. She felt heat rising to her face, and was sure she was blushing furiously. She and Aang had made sure to keep their picnic a secret from him.

"W-what are you doing hear?" Aang stammered. Katara was glad to see she wasn't the only one bit red in the face. Aang was currently a nice shade of crimson.

"Well, me and Zuko had something important to tell you, but we didn't know where you were. So, I asked around and found someone who was more than happy to give your current location," Sokka explained, "And what do I find when I get here? My sister making out with her boyfriend."

"Sokka!" Katara was pretty sure her face was as red as the Fire Nation flag right now.

"Hey, don't deny it, that's what you were doing."

"Who told you we were here?" Aang asked.

"A certain blind earthbender," Sokka replied.

"We forgot about Toph's all seeing feet!" Katara said bringing the heel of her hand to her forehead.

"So she just gave away our location? No price you have to pay?" Aang said curiously.

"Well, it wasn't entirely price free," Sokka said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, "I had to-"

"You know what? I don't even want to know," Aang said, holding his hand up and cutting the Water Tribe warrior off.

"Anyways, c'mon. Believe it or not, Zuko and I have something important to tell you. Way more important than you too making out."

The couple reluctantly gathered up their picnicking supplies, and trudged after Sokka.

The rest of the gang was already there, when Sokka, Aang, and Katara walked into the meeting room. Toph gave the couple a smirk, not caring whether or not they knew she'd sold them out to Sokka. Sokka sat down and motioned for Aang and Katara to do the same. Aang looked at Katara and she shrugged, clearly not having any more knowledge of what was going on than he did. As they sat down, Zuko cleared his throat.

"I'm just going to get right down to business. Resting time's over. While Sokka and I were on Whale Tale Island, getting the cure for Aang, we stumbled into a compound of the New Ozai Society."

"What?! Why didn't you tell us sooner?!" Aang asked angrily.

"Calm down Aang," Katara said, taking his hand in hers, "I'm sure they have a good reason for keeping this from us." But despite her outwardly calm appearance, she gave Zuko an icy glare that made him think the waterbender was somehow freezing his own insides. The glare told him "You'd better have a good reason."

"Well," Zuko said nervously, "Sokka and I had to process what we saw and mull it all over."

"It took you two whole weeks to mull it over?" Katara said disbelievingly.

"No," Zuko admitted, "We also wanted to give Aang enough time to heal. The poison hit him pretty hard. He needed to have some time to gain his strength back before he faced any kind of threat."

"Well, you could've at least let us know!" Aang protested.

"If we had let you know, would you really have relaxed for this long?"

"Well, no, but-"

"But what Aang? You needed rest. That's all there is to it," Sokka said, cutting him off.

"Then what now?" Toph chimed in, "We gonna infiltrate this place?"

"Essentially, yes," Zuko said, "Sokka had a plan."

Everyone turned to Sokka.

"So, what's the plan Captain Boomerang?" Toph asked.

"It's quite simple really," Sokka said, spreading out a map on the table. "I made a map. Here's Whale Tail Island," he said pointing to a piece of land on the map, and ignoring everyone else snickering over his bad artwork, "We're going to fly there in an airship."

"Why not Appa?" Katara asked.

"Because the airship will be more efficient in getting us there. It may not be as fast as Appa, but it doesn't need to rest, so we'll get there much quicker than if we rode Appa. I mean, me and Zuko got there and back in around three days, and that was in a war balloon."

"Okay then," Suki said, "That takes care of transportation, but what's the plan once we get there?"

"Well, I consider this more of a stealth mission. The compound we ran into was definitely not the headquarters of the New Ozai Society. It was too small. So, the plan is to get in there, capture one of the members, and take them back here to interrogate them for answers," Sokka explained.

"And what if they're like Chan and refuse to talk?" Katara asked, referring to the man who'd tried to kill Aang with the poisoned knife. They'd been able to get nothing out of him when they had interrogated him later on.

"Well, we're going to capture whoever looks the weakest. We'll take hostage the person who is most likely to spill," Sokka said.

"Sokka, that's actually not a bad plan," Katara said, impressed.

"Yeah," Toph said, "And the map you drew is great!"

"Why thank you-" Sokka stopped and frowned when he realized Toph was blind and only making fun of his artwork. "Why do you feel the need to do that to me?" he asked.

Everyone else laughed.

"So, when do we leave?" Aang asked.

"I think we should wait a few days, you know, so we can go over the plan some more and stuff," Katara commented.

"Oh please," Toph said, "You'e not fooling anyone Sugar Queen. You just want a little more time to play kissy face with Aang."

Both Aang and Katara blushed at the earthbender's accusation.

"T-That's not true!" Katara stammered.

"I can tell when people are lying, remember?" Toph said, smirking and causing the two to blush even more. The others laughed at the couple's discomfort.

"You know what? I think we should wait a few more days," Zuko said.

"Yeah," Sokka piped up, "Usually I'd be against my sister having the chance to be all smoochy with her boyfriend, but I'm enjoying the little lull in things we've had. Why not make it last a few more days?"

"So it's settled then," Zuko said, "We'll stay here a few more days. But after that, we need to get going. Remember Aang, you're life is still at risk, and it will continue to be at risk until someone stops these people."

Aang nodded.

"Okay then, now that that's settled, let's go eat dinner!" Sokka said.

"Can't you ever think about something besides food?" Toph asked.

"Yes," Sokka said indignantly, "I also think about my girlfriend."

To this, Suki giggled and gave Sokka a peck on the cheek. Toph rolled her eyes.

Katara looked at Aang and he nodded at her.

"Actually guys," Aang said clearing his throat, "Katara and I aren't all that hungry. I think we're going to go on a walk."

"Oh no you don't!" said Sokka, "I'm not letting you two out of my sight for the rest of the evening. Not after I found y'all making out earlier."

The others started to laugh.

"Sokka!" Katara said, her cheeks turning red.

"You're coming to dinner with us whether you like it or not, so come on," Sokka said adamantly.

Aang sighed.

"I don't think we have a choice Katara."

Katara grinned, knowing what he was about to do.

"You're right Aang. Looks like we'll have to go to dinner," Katara said, playing along.

"But if you don't mind Sokka, we'll take a different way there," Aang said. Before Sokka had time to respond, Aang had grabbed his glider and grabbed Katara's hand. He wrapped his hand around her waist and they jumped out the window.

"AANG! KATARA!" Sokka shouted angrily, rushing to the window just in time to see the two gliding off into the evening sky.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

The gang filed onto the airship. Their three days of rest were over, and they were heading to Whale Tail Island, to invade the New Ozai Society compound that was located there. Everyone was allowed to explore the airship for about half an hour after they took off, then they had to report to the eating quarters, where they would go over the plan for invading the compound.

"So," Sokka said with a mouthful of roasted turtle duck, "Zuko and I thought that once we get inside, we should split up into two groups. One will infiltrate the place and capture the person, and the other will cover the entrance to the compound and provide support if needed when we come out with the hostage."

"Okay," Aang replied, nodding, "Who's in what group?"

"The group to go in will be made up of me, Katara, and Toph. The other will be Zuko, you, and Suki."

"Wait, what?! How come I'm not part of the team to go inside the compound! I'm the avatar!" Aang exclaimed.

"Aang, no offense, but you're still a bit weak from the poison. Plus, you and Zuko are the New Ozai's Society's main targets. That's why both of you will remain outside with Suki," Sokka said.

"No," Aang said, "I'm going in with you."

"Aang, you are staying outside the cave whether you like it or not," Sokka said adamantly.

"But what about Katara? I would rather be by her side to make sure she's safe."

"Aang," Katara laid a hand on his shoulder, "I'll be find. I can protect myself."

"I know," Aang sighed, "But that doesn't mean I don't want be there for you." Katara smiled at him.

"You're so sweet," she said, giving him a hug.

"Uggh," Sokka complained, "Giving me the oogies over here guys."

"Oh, leave them be Sokka. They love each other," Suki said. When Aang and Katara came out of their embrace, the avatar turned to Sokka.

"Fine," he said, "I'll stay outside the compound. But if anything goes wrong, I'm going in." Sokka nodded. He then turned to Toph.

"Toph, you'll make sure we don't run into any unwanted company in the compound since it's a system of tunnels. We'll pick out a weak looking person who at the same time knows a lot about the New Ozai Society, maybe someone in communications, and knock them out. We'll then bring them back to the airship. From there, we'll fly back to the palace and interrogate them. Any questions?" the Water Tribe warrior said. Everyone shook their heads.

"Then we are good to go."

After dinner, the captain of the airship showed them to where they'd be sleeping. He opened a door revealing a large room equipped with seven beds, one for each of them. Sokka flopped down on the nearest one. The gang thanked the captain, and he nodded, bowing before heading back to the wheel. Everyone else claimed their beds. Suki was by Sokka, then came Zuko, then Toph, and then Katara and Aang, who had chosen beds beside each other. Then they all fell asleep.

The next day went by, pretty uneventful, and the day following that. Before they knew it, it was the last night before invading the compound. As everyone fell asleep that night, Aang reached across the gap between his and Katara's beds, and intertwined his fingers with her, causing her to smile. After that, Aang drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Aang woke up still holding hands with Katara. Everyone else's beds were empty. Aang figured that everyone except he and Katara had woken up and went to prepare for the mission. He looked at the still sleeping waterbender and smiled. She looked so peaceful. The gentle rise and fall of her chest as she inhaled and exhaled. The way she smiled in her sleep. Aang wondered what she was dreaming about. He heard her mumble something in her sleep and leaned closer to catch the words coming out of her mouth.

"Aang," she mumbled. Aang's eyes widened in surprise. She was dreaming about him? Aang watched her sleeping form curiously, catching his name a couple more times along with the words "kiss" and "love". Suddenly, Katara's eyes fluttered open to find Aang looking at her

"Good morning," he said to her, a smile growing on his face.

"Mm, morning," Katara said, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"So," Aang said as he sat up, a look of curiosity on his face, "I heard you talking in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?"

"Oh!" Katara said, a blush forming on her face, "I was talking in my sleep?"

"Yep, I happened to hear you say my name, as well as a few other words," he said, grinning slyly.

"Um, what were the other words?" Katara asked nervously.

"Kiss and love," Aang replied. Katara's face was now a nice shade of pink. Aang laughed.

"You're so adorable when you get flustered," he said, brushing a loose hair out of her face. He looked at her for a minute as if he was deep in thought.

"Aang?" Katara asked, wondering what he was thinking about.

Suddenly, his lips crashed against hers in a passionate kiss. Katara was taken by surprise, but she quickly recovered and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with everything she had. Everything was pushed out of her mind, except for him. Aang was the only thing she needed. He was her world. The kiss lasted for what felt like an eternity. Finally, just as Katara thought she was going to die from a lack of air, he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers.

"Promise me you'll be careful today," he murmured, his stormy grey eyes staring into Katara's cerulean ones.

"I promise," she said, her heart still pounding from the kiss. Aang smiled and once more melded his lips to hers. It was a shorter, more gentle kiss this time, but it was filled with just as much love as the one before.

As they pulled apart, they heard someone make a gagging sound.

"That was the worst case of oogies I've ever seen," said Sokka, who was standing in the doorway, a disgusted look on his face.

"Oh! Sokka! Um, how long exactly have you been standing there?" Katara asked nervously.

"Believe me, long enough to see some major oogie-osity."

Katara and Aang both blushed.

"Well, now that you two are up, let's meet up with the others, we're about to land."

As the captain steered the airship down to land, the others got ready to infiltrate the compound. Sokka slid on his Water Tribe armor. Zuko abandoned his royal cloak for a Fire Nation chestplate and helmet.

Toph slid on some gauntlets and an earthbender soldier helmet. Katara filled up her water pouch and Aang grabbed his glider. When the the airship had landed, they all filed out, Zuko giving the captain orders not to leave until they were back and had cleared him to. Outside the airship, Sokka went over the plan one more time, then he and Zuko led them up the volcano. As it had been for Sokka and Zuko before, the climb was long and hard. It was spent mostly in silence, everyone lost to their own thoughts as they climbed. Finally, they arrived at the mouth of the tunnel.

"Well," Sokka said, turning to the others, "This is it. Time to split up." He turned knowingly towards Aang and Katara.

"Alright you two, say your mushy goodbye and be done with it."

"Be careful," Aang said, embracing Katara and kissing her tenderly on the lips.

"I will," she said. They then turned to Sokka expecting a comment about "oogies". But instead he just gave them a nod.

"Okay," Sokka said, "We're going in." As he, Katara and Toph walked into the tunnel, Katara gave one last look at Aang and seeing the anxiety on his face, gave him a reassuring smile. Then, the invading trio was lost to the darkness of the tunnel.

Aang paced nervously outside the tunnel.

"Aang, don't worry, Katara is going to be find," Suki told him.

"How do you know?" Aang said continuing to pace back and forth.

"Because, she's not alone. Sokka and Toph are with her and they're not going to let anything bad happened to her, right Zuko?" Suki looked to the Firelord for help, but he just shrugged. Aang sat down against a rock and sighed.

"I just wish I could be there with her to make sure she is safe."

"I know," Suki said, not sure what else to say. Ten minutes passed. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the mountainside. Voices could be heard shouting inside the compound. Smoke poured out of the tunnel mouth. Then, a figure came running out of the gray haze. It was Sokka. In his arms, Toph lay unconscious.

"What happened?!" Suki said.

"We were caught," Sokka said breathlessly, "Then someone threw an explosive at us. There was smoke and rubble everywhere. Toph was knocked out. And Katara-" He broke off into a violent coughing fit.

"What?! Where's Katara?!" Aang asked, panic filling his body.

"S-She was caught. There was nothing we could do. T-The rubble, it blocked us off from her. My baby sister…" A tear ran down the warrior's face, carving a path into the soot and dirt that covered it from the explosion.

"No…" Aang said. He made a move to run into the smoky tunnel, but Zuko caught him by the shoulder and stopped him.

"No! Let go of me! Katara's still in there!" Aang, shouted, desperately struggling against Zuko's hold.

"Aang, there is nothing you can do right now! We'll have to come back later and rescue her. They're just trying to get you to go in after her so they can kill you while you're still weak," Zuko said. Aang wouldn't listen and continued fight against the Firelord's hold. Zuko sighed.

"I apologize for what I'm about to do," he said to the struggling avatar. Zuko then grabbed Sokka's club and knocked Aang over the head with it. Aang crumpled to his knees, falling unconscious at Zuko's feet. Zuko threw Aang over his shoulder.

"Let's get out of here," he said turning to Sokka and Suki.

They headed down the volcano, Zuko carrying Aang and Sokka carrying Toph, with Suki at the back, watching to make sure no one came running out of the tunnel to come after them. When they got to the airship, they rushed in. Zuko ordered the captain to take off, and a few minutes later, the airship was in the air, heading back to the Fire Nation.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been having trouble coming up with ideas lately. It's as though my inspiration took a spring break. So, if anyone has any ideas for the story, PLEASE let me know. I will be sure to mention to give you credit for it if I use your idea. Well, I know you must be bored of hearing me ramble on, so, onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

Katara's eyes fluttered open to darkness. She groaned as she sat up, feeling a sharp pain in her head. She squinted, trying to make out where she was. Once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she could see that she was in what looked like a prison cell. There were rock walls all around her and a thick iron door with no window. As she looked around, she once again felt a sharp pain. Katara lifted her hand to her head. It came away wet and sticky with blood, her blood. Katara looked around for any water the guards might've left her to drink, so she could use it to heal the head wound, but the guards must have though better of leaving water around a master waterbender. Light suddenly shown into the room, and Katara looked up to see four guards in the doorway. Three came over to her, while one stayed at the door. Two of the three who'd walked over to her, chained her arms and legs. After the chains were secure, the third cautiously walked over with a little bit of water. He gave Katara some to drink, and the waterbender lapped it up thirstly. After all the water was gone, the guards unchained her and left, locking the door securely behind them. Once again, Katara was all alone in the dark. After what felt like an hour or so, Katara's eyelids began to feel heavy and she felt herself begin to drift away into a dreamless sleep.

Aang woke up in his bed on the airship. He looked over at Katara's bed, and seeing it empty brought all the memories of what had happened come rushing back.

"Katara!" he shouted, jumping out of his bed. He grabbed his glider and rushed out into the hallway, trying to remember the way to the gangplank. Once he got there, he could jump off the airship and glide back to the island to save Katara. It the others weren't going to, he'd just do it alone. He raced down various hallways, backtracking when he had to, until he found the door leading to the gangplank, a thin bridge outside that connected the main part of the airship to the engine rooms. But before he could open the door, someone grabbed him from behind.

"Let me go!" Aang shouted, sending a blast of air behind him. He felt the hold release and heard someone slam into the wall behind him. But before he could continue on his way, a sheet of metal came up from the floor and pressed him to the wall, molding itself around him so that he couldn't escape.

"Nice try Twinkletoes, but we were prepared for any escape attempt by you. We posted guards all around this ship so that when you woke up, you couldn't do anything stupid," came a voice. Aang stopped struggling against the metal and saw Toph and Zuko standing in the hall. He looked around for Sokka and saw him slumped against the wall, rubbing his head with a pained expression on his face.

"Thanks for that air blast Aang," the Water Tribe warrior said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Really feelin' the love. Just so you know, I was the one you airbended into the wall."

"Let me go," Aang said, "I need to save Katara!"

"Twinkletoes, no offense or anything, but that would mean it would be around a 100,000 of them versus one of you. They'd mop the floor with you," Toph plainly stated.

"But-"

"No Aang. We're not going to let you go," Zuko said, "At least not alone."

Katara woke up to the sound of guards at her door. They opened it up and a gruff looking man with a scar reaching from his ear to his jawline walked in her prison cell. Two guards chained her back up as the scarred man walked over to her and sat down on a stool another guard had placed on the ground.

"So," he started, "You're name is Katara, correct?"

Katara remained silent. Suddenly the man slapped her in the face.

"You answer when I ask you something! You hear me?!" he barked at her. Katara still remained silent and the scarred man slapped her again, harder this time. Each time he asked, she refused to answer, and he hit her.

"_Name?"_

_Silence._

_Slap._

"_Name?"_

_Silence._

_Slap._

This is how it went for ten minutes and by the time he stopped asking her, Katara's face had become numb from the repeated slapping. The scarred man shook his head and walked to the door, but before he walked out, he turned back to the other guards and an evil grin spread across his face.

"Flog her." He then walked out and left Katara to the guards. Katara gasped as one of the guards who had chained her suddenly grabbed her Water Tribe dress and ripped it off, so that Katara only wore her bindings and the pants she wore under her dress. Another guard took out a whip. Katara closed her eyes as the whip came down on her mostly bare back like a tigerdillo attacking its prey. As they whipped her again and again, she couldn't help but scream. The pain was excruciating. Lash after lash came down on her back, bloodying it with every hit. The pain grew to be too much and Katara felt herself drifting off into a state of unconsciousness.

The next few days were hazy as Katara drifted in and out of consciousness. When she was conscious, the pain was overwhelming. Her face was bruised and sore from being slapped repeatedly. Her head wound was still not healed. Her back felt like it was on fire because of being whipped. And she had sharp pains in her stomach because they hadn't fed her since they'd captured her. It got to be so bad, that Katara preferred to be unconscious. Never in her life had Katara been in such physical pain. She groaned as she came back to consciousness once again. How much time had passed since she'd been here? She had no idea. In the dark of her prison cell, time was nonexistent. She the damp, cold air of the room gave her goose bumps and Katara noticed that she was still wearing only her bindings and the pants she usually wore under her dress. The waterbender looked around and saw that her dress lay torn and dirty in the corner of her cell. She must have forgotten to put it back on after being whipped. She painfully crawled over to the piece of clothing and pulled it over her head, wincing as it rubbed against the cuts that crisscrossed her back. Her jaw felt swollen and stiff from being hit so many times. Katara found her thoughts drifting towards Hama of all people. Is this what had drove her mad? Being imprisoned in a dark room for so many years? Slowly being tortured and starved to death? Katara shuddered, hoping she wouldn't be driven the madness of bloodbending. She never wanted to do that again, if she could avoid it. What if she died here? What if she was never rescued, and she died? No, Katara thought, shaking the thought out of her head, Aang would never let that happen. Her thoughts turned towards the young avatar. Was he okay? What if something had happened to him? Katara found tears coming to her eyes at the thought of it. He had to be okay. If he wasn't there would've been some sign of it, wouldn't there? Katara curled up in the corner of her cell and shut her eyes, trying to push the horrible thought of something happening to Aang out of her head.

Aang stood outside the tunnel that was the entrance to the New Ozai Society compound. Sokka stood beside him, boomerang ready, Zuko and Toph behind him. Aang took a deep breath. This was it; they were going to rescue Katara. He turned and looked at the others, who were looking expectantly at him. When they'd gotten back to the Fire Nation, Sokka said he had part of a plan. After putting together all the pieces, they had a full-fledged rescue planned out. It was quite simple really. They'd come back to the compound. Aang and Toph were to use their eathbending to find out were Katara was being held. Then, they'd get Katara out and head back to the Fire Nation Palace. Of course, this didn't include what would happen if they were attacked by New Ozai Society members inside the compound. Aang opened his mouth to speak the two words that would start the whole rescue mission.

"Let's go."

They rushed into the tunnel, and Aang stomped the ground, trying to find Katara through the vibrations. It took him a moment, but then he found her. She was in a little room a good distance away.

"Found her," Aang said. The others nodded and followed him.

"Turn right!" Aang instructed as the tunnel branched off in two separate paths. The others did as he said. They took a few more turns before coming to a narrow tunnel Aang said would lead to Katara. But before they could get to it, a big group of New Ozai Society members suddenly rushed out at them.

"Freeze!" they shouted. They wore black clothing with a stitched insignia on the side. Some carried swords, some spears, and some were firebenders. Aang felt rage build up inside him as he looked upon the men who surrounded them. These were the people who were so intent to kill him and Zuko. These were the people who wanted war and chaos. These were the people who had captured Katara. Something inside Aang snapped. His eyes and tattoos started to glow. He was in the avatar state, but this wasn't like the defense mechanism that allowed him to protect others and save the world, this was born out of pure anger and emotion. And it was one in which Aang was not in full control. Aang lifted his arm and rocks lifted from the ground into the air. He sent them towards a firebender and the man let out a sickening scream as the rocks fell on him and crushed his legs. He then sent a huge blast of air towards a man carrying a spear, throwing him against the cave wall much harder that Sokka had been thrown against the airship wall. The man was instantly knocked unconscious and blood ran down his face. But Aang wasn't done with him and stomped the ground, causing the man to shoot up into the air with a big rock. The man then came falling back down and landed with a sickening crunch on his arm.

As Zuko, Toph, and Sokka watched in awe and horror at Aang's loss of control, Sokka turned to the others.

"We need to get Katara while Aang's taking care of those guards," he whispered, "Toph, can you feel where she is?"

"Yeah, Sugar Queen's in a little room just down that tunnel," the blind earthbender said, pointing to the narrow tunnel Aang had been leading them to just before they were ambushed.

"Okay. Zuko, you stay here and help Aang," Sokka said, heading towards the tunnel with Toph.

"I'll stay here, but I don't think Aang's going to need my help," Zuko replied grimly.

Katara looked up weakly as the door to her cell was busted inward. Her brother and Toph rushed in.

"Sokka? Toph?"

When Sokka's eyes landed on Katara, the look of determination on his face was replaced by one of brotherly concern. He walked over to her and knelt down.

"C'mon," he said softly, "We're taking you home." He helped Katara stand up. Then Toph led the way as Sokka helped her limp out.

"Where's Aang?" Katara asked weakly.

"He's holding back the guards just outside this tunnel. Don't worry, everything's going to be fine."

But when they got back to Aang, what they saw was not pretty. The guards had not all been defeated, but the ones who had been were grossly injured, some barely alive. Aang was still in the avatar state and still not in control. Zuko was standing with a look of horror on his face as Aang took out yet another guard.

"Aang!" Katara cried out hoarsely. She stumbled over to the avatar before Sokka could stop her. But still, Aang continued to attack the New Ozai Society's men. Katara finally reached him and he whipped around looking at her with eyes that didn't register her presence as she grabbed his arm.

"Sweetie," she said, "It's me. I'm okay. You can stop hurting these guards. Please." He continued to glow and tears leaked out of Katara's eyes.

"Please sweetie," she found herself murmuring one more time. She leaned forward and kissed him. The glow in Aang's eyes and tattoos subsided as Katara kissed him and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.

"Katara," he said, pulling back to look at her.

"Aang," she sighed and fell into his arms, exhausted. Aang scooped her up and she clung tightly to his robes. As Aang took in the scene around him, a look of horror etched itself upon his face.

"D-Did I do this?" he stammered, looking at the injured guards that lay all around. Sokka laid a hand on his shoulder and Zuko nodded. Aang shuddered and looked away.

"Let's head back to the airship before anyone else comes," Zuko said, taking charge. Toph led the way out of the tunnel and Aang walked behind her, carrying Katara, who had passed out in his arms. At the rear were Sokka and Zuko, making sure no other New Ozai Society members ambushed them.

Once they were back in the airship, Aang put Katara on her bed and then sat on his own. His shoulders shook as he finally gave in to his emotions and broke down and cried.


End file.
